This month marks the twentieth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. It saddens me now as it did then. Thousands of Oregonians, including myself, marched in downtown Portland and other cities demonstrating our opposition to the invasion. It was an appalling decision by the administration, which resulted in many hundreds of thousands of deaths over the past 20 years. The ostensible reason for invasion was that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, which he did not. Also, it is said that we were going to introduce democracy, as if that is something that can come from outside. If that motive were true, it showed a complete lack of understanding of the Iraqi culture. Both the Vietnam and the Iraq wars were wars of choice. They were disasters for the innocent people of those countries and for the thousands in the American military who either died or were grievously injured, both in body and mind. I hope the survivors have found solace.
Susan Bexton, Portland
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